2023 Scottish National Masters Championships: Round up
By Grania Shankley
Well done to all players who competed in this weekend’s Scottish National Masters Championships. It was a great event in Perth over two days with over 100 masters players competing in various age categories in MS, WS, MD, WD and XD.
Men’s Singles Round Ups
Men’s Single’s 35
John Durrand, James Lee, Colin Knox and Sekhar Ghosh played in a round robin on Saturday for the MS 35 title. Well done to Colin Knox who didn’t drop a set in his three matches and came out victorious in the standings with a score of 6-0!
Men’s Single’s 45
The Men’s Single’s 45, was a round robin format split into Group A and B. Neil Whyte impressed in the opening rounds winning 3 out of 3! Mark MacKay [1] and Neil Whyte then went head-to-head in the final with Mark claiming the win in 24 minutes over two sets (21-12 21-10).
Men’s Singles 50
The MS 50 saw a draw size of four which was played on Saturday. Craig Lamb finished top of the standings without dropping a set (6-0). Steven McGregor finished in second place, only losing out to eventual winner with a close score of (21-14 22-20).
Men’s Singles 55
Craig Young finished in first place in the MS 55 winning matches against Alan Houston and Steven Frazer.
Men’s Singles 60
In a draw of three, it was Samuel Johnson who finished top of the standings in the MS 60. The pick of the games was Samuel against Gordon Keith, a one hour 3-setter which finished in Samuels favour (13-21 21-13 22-20).
Men’s Singles 65
Played on Saturday in a draw of four, it was Dan Travers who triumphed in a 6-0 win at the top of the MS 65 standings.
Men’s Singles 70
The MS 70 was a straight elimination. The final was between Ewen MacDonell and Alan Pirie was 3-set showdown, and while Alan showed promise coming from a set behind, it was Ewen who sealed victory over 40 minutes in the third (21-12 19-21 21-5).
Women’s Singles Round Ups
Women’s Singles 35
The WS 35 was a round robin main draw featuring Frances Mclure, Aileen Travers and Laura Muir. It was Frances Mclure who finished top of the standings with two wins on the day. The pick of the games was an epic 48 minute three-setter between Frances and Aileen Travers (2nd place) which finished 16-21 21-11 21-19 in Frances’ favour.
Men’s Doubles Round Ups
Men’s Doubles 35
The MD 35 was split into round robin Groups A and B. The final saw Ewan Brunton and Keith Campbell [1] winning in two sets (21-12 21-14) against Colin Knox and Alan Martin [2].
Men’s Doubles 45
The MD 45 was split into Groups A, B and C, followed by the elimination round. In the semis Ross Campbell and Frazer McCulloch [2] battled it out and won over 3 sets against Eion Ballantine and Ross Groundwater [3] (23-21 13-21 12-21) to reach the final. However it was Craig Lamb and Mark Mackay [1] who claimed top spot with a final score of (21-5 21-13) against Ross and Frazer.
Men’s Doubles 50
Alun Evans and William Hyslop finished top of the standings winning all their matches. A close second was Alan Houston and Colin Jackson who on another day could have taken it to 3-sets with the eventual winners (21-13 21-19).
Men’s Doubles 55
In a draw size of four, the MD 55 winners were Gordon Milne and Craig Young – who didn’t drop a set in their matches (6-0)! The pick of the matches was a 43 minute encounter between eventual winners Gordon and Craig and second place doubles pair Gordon Keith and Graham Keith (21-19 21-14).
Men’s Doubles 65
In a draw size of three, it was Douglas McBriar and Joe O’Donnell who came out winners of the MD 65. The 49 minute tie between eventual winners Douglas and Joe against 2nd place James Dyet/James McMillan was the pick of the bunch with fine margins making the difference (21-19 20-22 21-9).
Men’s Doubles 70
Ewen MacDonnell and Alan Pirie showed their strength over two games to win the MD 70. The pair never dropped a set and their key win against 2nd place Alastair Davidson and Ashley Sharp (21-17 22-20) sealed their place at the top of the standings.
Women’s Doubles Round Ups
Women’s Doubles 35
Carolyn Young and Suzanne Zwane won all their matches in the WD 35 only dropping one set. The highlight for the pair was a tight 3-setter against 2nd place Kathryn McGregor/Frances Mclure that pushed them on in the tournament (21-13 12-21 21-17).
Women’s Doubles 50
Following their recent experience at the Danish Open Senior, Julie Dunlop and Suz Henderson were overall winners on the day in the WD 50 with two wins against opponents Lynne Campbell/Kirsten Thomson (21-12 21-15) and Karen Aitken/Myrna Crooks (21-14 13-21 21-19).
Women’s Doubles 55
Anne Roberston and Aileen Travers finished top of the standings with two convincing wins. Stella McClure/Jill Smith came 2nd and Elaine Gray/Moira Nicholson finished in 3rd.
Women’s Doubles 65
In the WD 65 it was Ann Callaghan and Carol Moore who took the title winning all of their matches and only dropping a set. 3rd place Catherine Bremer and Karen Kent put up a brave fight against the eventual winners taking them to 3 sets over 42 minutes of play (11-21 21-8 21-19).
Mixed Doubles Round Ups
Mixed Doubles 35
The MD 35 was a round robin draw of four pairs. Mark Mackay and Frances Mclure finished in 1st place winning all their matches. The pick of the games was eventual winners (Mark and Frances) taking on 2nd place Ewan Brunton/Kathryn McGregor, with a score of (21-9 18-21 21-19) over 32 minutes – the determination from Ewan and Kathryn in the latter sets was fantastic!
Mixed Doubles 40
Keith Campbell and Suzanne Zwane won both their matches in the MXD 40 to claim top spot. Steven Hendry and partner Linzi Greig came close to beating eventual winners in the first set and pulled it back in the second but Keith and Suzanne proved too strong over 3 sets for the pair who finished in 2nd place (22-20 13-21 21-12).
Mixed Doubles 45
The MXD 45 was split into Group A and B for round robin matches. In the elimination stage Craig Lamb was back in finals action with partner Laura O’Keefe. The pair continued their positive tournament run, capping it off with a victory against Eion Ballantine and Carole Begg (21-16 21-16).
Mixed Doubles 50
The MXD 50 was divided into Group A, B and C for the round robin stage of the draw. The elimination stage saw Gordon Milne/Karen Stalker take on Daniel Smith/Kirsten Thomson (21-15 21-15). In the other semi-final Craig Robertson/Aileen Travers received a bye.
Craig Robertson and Aileen Travers then faced Gordon Milne and Karen Stalker in the MXD 50 final. In the second, it looked like Gordon and Karen might take it to 3 sets but Craig and Aileen pushed through and took the win with a final score of 21-16 23-21.
Mixed Doubles 60
Three pairs competed for the title in the MXD 60 and with some close fought games it was Ross Gladwin and Jill Smith who finished 1st in the standings. The stand out match was a 49 minute 3-setter between Ross/Jill and 2nd place Gordon Keith/Elaine Gray. In a tight final match, Gordon and Elaine took the first set, however the eventual winners (Ross/Jill) built momentum in the second and third to take the point and finish top of the leaderboard (16-21 22-20 21-19).
Mixed Doubles 65
The MXD 65 was split into Groups A and B for the round robin draw. In the final showdown it was the unstoppable pairing of Dan Travers and Christine Black who beat Colin Campbell and Jill Gladwin Greig 21-16 21-17 in the MXD 65 final.
We’d like to take this opportunity to say a huge well done to everyone who took part and to all organisers and volunteers.